Outer Space, Aliens, and the Holy Bible

A bout two decades ago, it was quite uncertain whether stars other than our own sun even hosted their own planets.

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However, according to Nasa, the latest count of confirmed exoplanets stands at around 3, — and at least six of them are potential Earths. This count will definitely go up and many researchers believe that the advancement of technology will enable humans to discover some form of life on another planet in the coming years. Moreover, contact with intelligent life elsewhere in the universe will present theological and philosophical conundrums that many religions will find deeply challenging.

Bible Verses about Aliens

This is especially true for Christianity, which primarily focuses on humankind — and teaches us that God created man in his own image, and all other animals and plants were created for mankind. The interaction with alien life is not just being discussed in the domain of philosophy any more, it has entered into the traditional scientific realm.

• Deuteronomy 4:19.
• The discovery of alien life may be close. How will religion survive it?.
• The Carpenter (ImmanuEl Book 1).
• BBC - Future - If we made contact with aliens, how would religions react?.

Nasa was criticised by some for providing money to an organisation rooted in Christian theology. The idea of infinite space with the infinite glory of God originated with Nicholas of Cusa , a German philosopher who kept his infinite theology within the Catholic framework.

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If so, would the inhabitants of those planets believe in the same gods as humans do? How could the creator of the universe deny the inhabitants of those worlds a chance to redeem their sins? Does that mean that God incarnated as Jesus in those worlds contrary to Bible teachings that say that the redemption in Christ was a unique event meant for humans on Earth?

You could make a very strong case for institutional religions surviving the discovery of alien planets and the ensuing tussle with exotheology — a term that describes theological issues as related to extraterrestrial intelligence. These institutions have always shown an amazing ability to remain relevant.

Whenever they encounter a new paradigm shift, they come up with interpretations from scriptures that justify their own existence. There is also, quite simply, something special about religion that resonates with humans on a fundamental level. For traditional religions and religious institutions, the desire to expand their material wealth and power has often take precedence over the spreading of theological doctrines. Why would Jesus Christ have come to Earth, of all the inhabited planets in the universe, to save Earthlings and abandon the rest of God's creatures?

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Weidemann, a self-described protestant Christian, suggested some possible solutions. Perhaps extraterrestrials aren't sinners, like humans, and therefore aren't in need of saving. However, the principle of mediocrity — the idea that your own example is most likely typical unless you have evidence to the contrary — casts doubt on this, he pointed out. My position is no. If so, our position among intelligent beings in the universe would be very exceptional. Another possibility is that God incarnated multiple times , sending a version of himself down to save each inhabited planet separately.

If we made contact with aliens, how would religions react?

However, based on the best guesses of how many civilizations we might expect to exist in the universe, and how long planets and civilizations are expected to survive, God's incarnations would have had to be in about places simultaneously at any given time, assuming each incarnation took about 30 years, Weidemann calculated. If God truly became corporeal and took human form when Jesus Christ was born, this wouldn't have been possible, Weidemann said.

• 30 Bible Verses about Aliens - Terrestrial Scripture.
• Das Charakterbild Alexanders des Großen: Im Vergleich der Darstellungen von Plutarch und Iustin (German Edition).
• Are Aliens Part of God's Plan.
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• Milk Fresh From The Tap (Milk for Free #3, a Lactation Fantasy story)?
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Thomas Hoffmann, a protestant pastor in Tulsa, Okla.